- You are here:
- Simple Key
- Woody plants
- Broad-leaved woody plants
- Quercus montana
Quercus montana — mountain chestnut oak
Copyright: various copyright holders. To reuse an image, please click it to see who you will need to contact.
Facts
Mountain chestnut oak is so-named for its leaves that, with many shallow lobes, resemble chestnut leaves. A starchy layer inside the acorn protects the embryo and permits it to persist and germinate in very dry soils. Wild turkeys favor the acorns of this species.
Habitat
Forests, ridges or ledges, talus and rocky slopes, woodlands
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Growth form
- the plant is a tree
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf blade length
- 100–220 mm
- Leaf blade width
- 60–120 mm
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
- Twig winter color
- brown
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
- Collateral buds
- there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
- Leaf scar arrangement
- there is one leaf scar per node on the stem or twig
- Superposed buds
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
- Terminal bud
- the branch has a terminal bud on it
- Winter bud distribution
- the winter buds are clustered near the tip of the twig
- Winter bud scale hairs
- the winter bud scales have no hairs on them
- Winter bud scales
- the winter bud is perulate (partially or completely covered with one or more scales)
- Winter bud shape
- the winter buds are ovoid (egg-shaped)
- Winter bud stalks
- the winter buds have no stalks
-
Flowers
- Anther color
- the anthers show no hint of a pink, reddish or purplish tint
- Carpels fused
- the carpels are fused to one another
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
- Flower petal color
- NA
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower does not have a hypanthium
- Inflorescence hairs
- there are no hairs on the inflorescence
- Inflorescence position
- the inflorescences grow on the twigs
- Inflorescence type
-
- the inflorescence has only one flower on it
- the inflorescence is an ament (catkin; slender, usually pendulous inflorescence with crowded unisexual flowers)
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Ovary position
- the ovary is below the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes only one cycle of petals or sepals
- Petal appearance
- NA
- Petal fusion
- NA
- Sepal appearance
- the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Sepal tip glands
- there are no glands at the tips of the sepal lobes
- Sepals fused only to sepals
-
- the sepals are fused to each other (not other flower parts), at least near their bases
- the sepals are separate from one another
- Stamen number
-
- 1 or 2
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- Stamen position relative to petals
- NA
- Stamens fused
- the stamens are not fused to one another
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
- NA
- Fruit tissue origin
- there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is a nut (dry and indehiscent, with a hard wall, usually containing only one seed and usually subtended by an involucre)
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- the involucre has no spines
- Wings on fruit
- there are no wings on the fruit
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is clear and watery
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant is a tree
-
Leaves
- Hairs on underside of leaf blade
- the underside of the leaf has hairs on it
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
-
- the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
-
- the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
- the base of the leaf blade is rounded
- Leaf blade base symmetry
- the leaf blade base is symmetrical
- Leaf blade bloom
- the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- NA
- Leaf blade flatness
- the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
- Leaf blade hairs
-
- at least some of the hairs on the leaf blade are branched
- the hairs on the leaf blade are different from the choices given
- Leaf blade length
- 100–220 mm
- Leaf blade scales
- there are no scales on the leaf blades
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
- Leaf blade texture
- the leaf blade is coriaceous (has a firm, leathery texture)
- Leaf blade translucent dots
- there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
- Leaf blade vein pattern
- the main veins of the leaf blade are pinnate (the secondary veins branch off at intervals from the main central vein) and non-arcuate (not arched towards the leaf tip)
- Leaf blade veins
- the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base toward the tip
- Leaf blade width
- 60–120 mm
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf form
- the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- the lobes of the leaf blade are rounded or bluntly pointed
- Leaf midrib glands
- the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf stalk attachment to leaf
- the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade
- Leaf stalk nectaries
- there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
- Leaf stalk shape
- the leaf stalk is not flattened
- Leaf teeth
-
- the leaf blade margin is crenate (with rounded teeth) or crenulate (with tiny, rounded teeth)
- the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
- Stipules
- there are no stipules on the plant, or they fall off as the leaf expands
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- forests
- ridges or ledges
- talus or rocky slopes
- woodlands
-
Scent
- Plant odor
- the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Lenticels on twigs
- there are no lenticels on the twigs, or they are very hard to see
- Pith shape
- the ouline of the pith in a twig is roughly star-shaped, with several points or arms radiating from the center
- Pith type
- the pith inside the twig is solid, completely filled with spongy tissue
- Short shoots
- there are no peg- or knob-like shoots present
- Twig bloom
- there is no bloom on the twig
- Twig hairs
- the twigs have few or no hairs on them
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig scales
- there are no scales on the twig surface
- Twig winter color
- brown
- Wings on branch
-
- the branch does not have wings on it
- the branch has wings running along it
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Occurs only in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: UPL)
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Maine
- extremely rare (S-rank: S1), threatened (code: T)
- Massachusetts
- fairly widespread (S-rank: S4)
- Vermont
- fairly widespread (S-rank: S4)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
8. Quercus montana Willd. N
mountain chestnut oak. Quercus prinus L. • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT; mainly limited to the southern portion of the northern New England states, but extending north in VT in the Lake Champlain Valley. Dry-mesic to mesic forests and woodlands, often associated with ridges and rocky slopes.
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Quercus muehlenbergii:
- leaf blades often with a papilla-like point at the apex of each tooth-like lobe, bark gray, without deep furrows, flaky or scaly on mature stems, and carpellate involucre mostly 8–20 mm in diameter (vs. Q. montana, with leaf blades lacking a papilla-like point at the apex of each tooth-like lobe, bark dark gray to dark brown with deep furrows, neither flaky nor scaly, and carpellate involucre 18–25 mm in diameter).
Synonyms
- Quercus prinus L.